Best brown bullhead lakes in New Jersey
28 New Jersey waters list brown bullhead (official records or labelled estimates), 23 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Night-feeding catfish of weedy, mud-bottomed lakes — the classic after-dark shoreline bite across the east and Canada.
- Lake Hopatcong — 58 ft · Approximated contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, CrappieWhy #1: mapped size signal; check the water page for depth coverage · no verified access record attached
- Newton Lake — 11 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Hammonton Lake — 10 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Lake Pemberton — 6 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Deer Park Pond — 10 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Bargaintown Pond — 6 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Shaws Mill Pond — 12 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Big Pine Lake — 7 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Pohatcong Lake — 7 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Mill Pond — 6 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Sylvan Lake — 4 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Delaware Lake — 13 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Mary Elmer Lake — 6 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Silver Lake — 8 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Grenloch Lake — 7 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Surprise Lake — 12 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Chain Pickerel, Brown BullheadWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Etra Lake — 7 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Common Carp, Chain PickerelWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Echo Lake — 5 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Duck Pond — 4 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common CarpWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Lake Ocquittunk — 10 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Rainbow TroutWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Green Brook Pond — 8 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Common Carp, Brown BullheadWhy #21: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- West Pond — 34 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel CatfishWhy #22: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
…plus 6 more New Jersey waters holding brown bullhead.
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See New Jersey waters with public access data
When to fish brown bullhead in New Jersey
- Spring 2–8 ft — First warm rains pull bullheads into black-bottomed bays and creek mouths — the classic spring shore bite.
- Summer 3–12 ft — Day fish hold on deeper mud and weed edges; after dark they spread across the shallows to feed by smell.
- Fall 5–15 ft — Fish slide toward deeper soft bottoms as the shallows cool — the evening bite shortens with the days.
- Winter 10–25 ft — Bullheads pod up half-dormant in the deepest mud basins; a long soak with bait on bottom is the lone play.
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